


A symphony forever unfinished

by Tired_But_Willing



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Dream Smp, Fluff, Hamilton References, Hurt/Comfort, It's going to hurt me to write this I can already tell, Manberg, Runaways AU, l'manberg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27624728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tired_But_Willing/pseuds/Tired_But_Willing
Summary: "What if we just run away?"With the growing threat of Schlatt uncovering Tubbo's treachery, and Wilbur's impending insanity waning over the SMP, Tommy and Tubbo decide to run away while they still have the chance. The effects unfold a series of alternative events over the world as we have come to know it.
Relationships: None, Please don't ship kids guys, The story revolves around minors and real people, Tubbo&Tommyinnit, platonic - Relationship
Comments: 3
Kudos: 110





	1. Chapter One: Goodbyes

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that there are no ships in this story. Tommy and Tubbo both have stated they are uncomfortable with it, and I will not even be including them for the people who are in this story. Interactions are strictly platonic.

The sunset had never been something that he’d found himself appreciating. It was there every single day, and it would always continue that way. A cycle. It was a permanent cycle that left room for only wanting. Tommy never imagined the possibility that the cycle would break.

Very few things used to matter to him. He cared for Tubbo, and his discs. And with those things, everything was right. Everything was good. He’d never imagined that something could take them both away in a record time.

And then, after he lost them, he never imagined that he’d be so close to getting them back. Tubbo was right there, sitting next to him on a bench that overlooked what started that damn war in the first place. His disc playing in the background, he wondered.

If they hadn’t fought, if they’d surrendered, would everything be fine right now? Would any of this have even happened?

“We could just run away.” Tubbo broke the silence, and Tommy could do nothing but sit still and listen. “We have everything we need. We could leave right now.”

“We have everything we need.” Tommy found himself repeating what the other had already said. He looked out at the sunset again. If they stayed, would it be the last one he got to see? The second to last? And what about Tubbo? What if another day with Schlatt was the day he never saw the sun again?

A slight wind passed through the trees, as if the world itself was trying to push him to continue. Like it was begging him to give the answer he so desperately wanted to voice. But Tommy knew that he had to bring his concerns to life. “What about Wilbur?”

Tubbo tilted his head at him for only a moment before his attention went back to the land laid so tragically bare before them. The SMP was only a small factor now. “You said he’s lost it, Tommy. You said that yourself. Why would you stay?”

He felt his throat going dry. There was a lump in the back of it, stinging along with his eyes. Was he tearing up? He pushed the feeling down. His voice came out even, so even that it caught Tubbo off guard. “He’s my friend, Tubbo. He’s-” The next words he wanted to say felt as though they were stuck in his throat. “He’s my friend,” he finished. It was obvious that he hadn’t meant to repeat himself. Admitting that Wilbur was family now, when he was so far gone, felt like it’d do more harm than good.

“If Wilbur could tell you something himself,” the other boy said, briefly closing his eyes. “If the real Wilbur could get through, he’d tell you to do whatever your heart says.”

A bitter laugh clawed itself free from Tommy’s throat. “He said that much. The duel with Dream.” A quiet sigh. Then, he found himself admitting what he never planned to. “I was scared, Tubbo. I put the nation in my hands, and I failed.”

“But then you won,” he opened his eyes again. The sun was almost gone now. The end of another part of the cycle. One of thousands. Millions. Maybe the last he’d ever see. “And you don’t have to win for them anymore. Wilbur, Schlatt- let them have Manberg! We don’t need Manberg. If we leave right now, we’ll never fight again.”

Tommy stared at him. “Promise me,” he said. The demand was childish. Tommy always insisted he wasn’t a child, but dammit, he needed that reassurance. 

Tubbo finally stared back at him, a small smile creeping across his face. “I promise,” he said. “Its you, me, and the discs. We’ll start somewhere new outside of every nation. We could have our own nation, Tommy!”

The idea of somewhere that they could be without the bindings of another war, or a political fallout. Tommy wanted it, wanted it so bad. He couldn’t imagine it, and that made him want it more.

He felt so horribly out of character in that moment. Small. Insignificant. And here was an opportunity to escape that feeling of weakness and return to normal. “Lets run away,” he said before he could even think to stop himself. “Lets run away, Tubbo.”

For a moment his friend sat in shocked silence, gaping at him. Then a wide grin spread across his visage. He jumped off of the bench, dirt scuffing his dress shoes. The dress shoes Schlatt made him wear. Tommy decided they should both get new clothes, as soon as they could. “I have a horse nearby,” the boy said quickly. He’d anticipated Tommy accepting. And he’d been right. “We can get on and be out of here within an hour. We’ll find a place to stay when it gets dark, and it’ll be okay!”

Was he trying to keep Tommy on board, or himself? Tommy didn’t know, but he was determined, now. There would be more sunsets. More cycles he could write off as meaningless, because they wouldn’t be his last. And someday Wilbur would come to his senses and join them. “I want to leave a letter,” he said quickly. “Something to say goodbye.”

“Of course,” Tubbo nodded quickly. Now that they’d both agreed, there was nothing more to panic about. Now they could spare a few more moments in the SMP before their departure into a land they’d never ventured far into. A land that was entirely their own.

Tommy wrote quickly. His scrawl was uneven and sloppy, but he knew it wouldn’t be an issue for Wilbur to read. And maybe the message would be passed on to Philza. If he felt any guilt for abandoning the later without ever even bothering to say hi to him, he couldn’t let it show. 

With the note firmly weighed down onto the bench with a rock, Tommy straightened his posture. He took the jukebox in hand, looking up from it towards Tubbo. “Lets go,” he said firmly. That meek voice from before was already ebbing away, his old confidence returning. 

Tubbo looked impossibly happier to see it, nodding with an enthusiasm that Tommy had come to associate with his best moments. The fact that this brought him the same joy as a well timed joke solidified the belief that he needed to go through with it.

Manberg or L’manberg. It didn’t matter any more, it wasn’t up to them to fix. Tommy and Tubbo managed to find cloaks to conceal their clothing in case they were seen by either side. Along with a new pair of boots-

Tubbo’s dress shoes still sat beneath the bench, slightly spotted with mud.


	2. Chapter Two: The Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unwanted guest gives even less wanted news.

Sunlight filtering through the trees was always beautiful. The dappled light shone through to the leaves down below, where it gave the forest an almost ethereal appearance. And when it hit the water right it could be blinding. Nature was beautiful, that was true. A song waiting to be written. But Wilbur had learned not to get his hopes up on songs as he had so many times before. L’manberg was a symphony, its notes and lines making something wonderful for every man, woman, and person in between. The symphony then had sharps and flats that didn’t fit the song. The composer was removed.

Wilbur was removed, voted out by his own people by a self proclaimed emperor. He couldn’t stop the bitter hate that threatened to choke him at that. It crept through his throat and out of his mouth in bitter words that he had no time to regret. Bitter words to his once bright right hand man. Tommyinnit. He knew the boy could take it. They’d fought a war, he’d made sacrifices. He could take a few simple words in stride. It wasn’t like Wilbur meant them. Tommy would truly never be president. Not like Wilbur would.

The presidency, however, was the last thing on his mind. How could he think of that with a traitor so close to him? Potentially the reason that Schlatt had an iron grip on L’manberg. Manberg. It wasn’t Wilburs fault, no. It was Eret’s. If they hadn’t betrayed him, this chain of events. It never would have happened. Wilbur knew that for certain. He couldn’t trust any of them anymore. But he could trust himself. 

“I wouldn’t have come here if it wasn’t important.” The king began, leaning back against the wood of a large tree. The branches still hung several feet above their head. “I know how you feel about me and what happened in L’manberg.” 

Wilbur scoffed, crossing his arms. “You have no idea how I feel,” he said. “But I should thank you. At least your betrayal was honest.”

Something flashed across Eret’s face. “Not everyone is out to get you, Wilbur,” they said, quirking an eyebrow. “You know that, right?”

“Share your news,” the man replied in a deadpan. 

Watching him for a moment longer, a sigh finally signaled them relenting. “A letter for you,” they began, holding up a single sheet of paper. “Left in the SMP. And before you try to disprove it,” they cut him off before he could try to interrupt. “Tubbo left their shoes next to it.”

He stared at them for a long moment. “So it was set up by Schlatt,” he said cooly. “And you’re here to deliver a meeting place for me to walk into and die, I suppose? A final betrayal? Fitting, Eret-”

“Tubbo’s shoes, and Tommy’s writing,” they scowled at the added disbelief in his tone. “Read the letter, Wilbur. Then decide how much you want to doubt.”

He found himself rolling his eyes, grabbing the letter from them so swiftly that it nearly tore. Eret took a step back, brows furrowed before they abruptly walked away. Wilbur was left alone in the forest with nothing more than a scrap of paper in his hands. It didn’t make sense. Tommy didn’t write letters. He shouted. Loud, incredibly vocal when he wanted to be. Which was very often. If he had something to say, he’d tell Wilbur face to face. Since he was so insistent on being a man, he’d stay honourable. Wouldn’t he? 

His eyes trailed down the letter, narrowing with each word. A full page of a scrawl that he knew was Tommy’s. Messy and rushed, he’d never enjoyed writing in the times that Wilbur had seen him doing so. And the more he read, the more he realized just why Tommy hadn’t come to him in person.

He’d left. 

He’d abandoned him.

He’d left Wilbur alone with no one to turn to.

His hands shook, tightening on the paper and creasing the once smooth material.

Tubbo had done this. No- Schlatt had done this.

All of Manberg was to blame for taking Tommy away. If there was no Tommy, there would be no Manberg.

If they couldn’t have it together, reunited as brothers, then no one could.


	3. Chapter Three: The Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Tubbo are caught in the middle of one of the worst storms in SMP history.

An endless torrent of rain marked the start of the journey. It was to be expected that the trip to a new life wouldn’t be easy, but another few days of sunshine to find shelter would’ve been nice. Water streamed endlessly from the sky. It washed away small leaves that had fallen from the trees that had been ruthlessly marred by the beginning of autumn. If the weather kept up as desolate as it was currently, there was no doubt that their little valley would flood.

Tommy held the reigns of their stolen horse a bit tighter, reaching up to tug the hood of his cloak further over his hair. It didn’t help much. His clothing was soaked clean through, spreading an uncomfortable chill over his skin. He was only partially aware of Tubbo’s arms around his waist from how numb he was. Occasionally their mount would falter, hooves stuck in the mud.

He grit his teeth, scanning the valley for anything that could possibly hide them from the sky long enough to dry off. Escaping the war was pointless if they would succumb to hypothermia so soon. Something caught his eye. A way up the side of one of the mountains was a cave. He surveyed it. It’d be a dangerous climb in the rain. The stone would be slick. But if they could get up there… they might just have a chance to tough out the night. And maybe, there would be wood inside. He supposed he should be thankful Tubbo had thought to bring a flint and steel along with them.

A sharp pull on the reins to the left convinced the horse to make its way to the foot of the mountain. Tommy was all too aware of the sharp crack of thunder. Close. They needed to be in a shelter of some sort before whatever enhanced storm that was on the horizon reached them. They had to be in the eye, now. Temporarily safe. He jumped off of the mount, seizing the lead to keep it from running off. 

“Hold on,” he instructed to Tubbo, who was blinking awake wearily. “I found something, but I have to lead us there on foot.”

If Tubbo said something, he couldn’t hear it over the gust of wind that whipped past his face. His hood was abruptly knocked off. With his face exposed to the elements, Tommy’s eyes stung. But he only tightened his fist, beginning the trek up the side of the mountain. His knees ached, feet sore. Even if they’d been on the horse for most of the trip, he still found himself tired within minutes. The mountain was steeper than he’d thought it would be at the first glance. Maybe he should’ve taken more time in his evaluation. Too late, now, he supposed. 

A few times, he was knocked off his feet. His shins and palms split open and bled. Tubbo’s voice was only a faint sound in the wave of noise that was overcoming him. Again, Tommy hauled himself to his feet, continuing up the mountainside. He could see the opening of the cave now. It was so close, he could keep walking a little while longer for that hint of relief from the storm.

Again, Tubbo said something he couldn’t hear. Tommy looked back at him, eyes narrowed to keep water from assaulting them further. Tubbo was pointing. He’d seen the cave, too, then. Tommy gave him a quick nod to confirm their destination, tugging the horse forward again. Distantly, he realized he wasn’t cold anymore. That might not be a good thing, but he could focus on it more once they were safe. He practically fell into the cave once they’d reached it. A thud confirmed that Tubbo had jumped off their horse, rushing to his side.

“Tommy,” he said, grabbing him by the shoulders to haul him to his feet. Tommy waved him off, faltering on his feet. 

“Secure the horse to something,” he said. “We can’t lose it.”

Tubbo frowned, but didn’t argue. Obviously he didn’t like it. But they both knew the mount escaping would mean they were potentially dying out here. The journey on foot was too long. Once the horse’s lead was tied to a stone and wedged into the wall, Tubbo returned to him.

“We need fire,” he said. “Wood outside’s too wet to use.”

“I have wood,” he staggered across the cabin, ripping the chest they’d slung over the back of the horse open. “For emergencies, weapons, or shealture. This definitely counts as two.”

“That’s smart.” Tubbo sounded surprised. Tommy was almost bitter. He could be smart. Sure, he was reckless at times, but that wasn’t the world's only impression of him. Right?

“Of course it’s smart,” he snapped, not meaning to make his tone as sharp as it was. The other expression forced him to hesitate. His shoulders slumped in defeat. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Tubbo waved him off. “Wood. Now we just need to start a fire. Keep us warm, keep mobs away-”

Tommy froze, Tubbo’s next words escaping him entirely. He’d forgotten about monsters. How could he possibly have been so stupid? He still had his sword. Still had his armor. But did Tubbo have anything protecting him?

“Tubbo,” he whispered. “Do you have armor?”

“I don’t,” the other boy blinked. “I never grabbed any from Schlatt before leaving. I thought we could craft some.”

“With what materials?” Tommy demanded. “We have wood, and discs, and a bit of chicken, thats not armor material.”

“Tommy,” he said. “We’re in a cave. How deep does it go?”

He stared at him. “I- I don’t know? What kind of question is that?”

“We’ll need to mine eventually,” Tubbo continued. “Why not do it tomorrow morning? We could make my armor, our weapons.”

“We don’t have a furnace.”

“We can make one. In the morning. But rest is more important.” He sat down, leaning against a wall of the cave. “Rest is a lot more important. We can’t leave for a while, we might as well.”

Tommy cast a quick glance outside that confirmed it. “Fine,” he said. “You’re right. Tomorrow we explore the cave.”

“Tomorrow we explore the cave,” Tubbo agreed.

Tommy dropped down beside him. He found himself unable to sleep, even after Tubbo’s breathing had long since evened out. He couldn’t stop thinking about Wilbur. What would happen, with Tommy gone? Would he blame Tubbo? Schlatt? Would he get hurt? He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the thoughts away. Whatever Wilbur did, it wasn’t his fault. Tubbo was right. That man wasn’t their Wilbur anymore.


End file.
